Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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At Halftime By BOB WESTERFIELD Guest Columnist ' When the resounding thud of toe meeting ball echoes throughout Carolina Stadium at two oclock this afternoon, the 47th annual renewal of the Carolina-Clemson classic will be under way. Fought down through the years with as in tense a rivalry as is found on any gridiron in America, this game has come to rank as the most important game of the season for the two clubs as regards conferences, or even, national football honors. The bright green turf of Carolina Stadium has absorbed the cleat marks of many Gamecock and Tiger elevens, some of them good, some of them bad. It has witnessed the ex-: ploits of many an outstanding individual in his bid for pig skin recognition. It has been a party to some of the most fiercely fought football games ever played. The Gamecock-Tiger clash has long been a proving ground for teams and individuals. The team that loses this game, regardless of its record outside of the Big Thursday classic, is denied national recognition for losing on that day. The same holds true for standout individual performers on both teams. If they don't produce in the State Fair game, they. are usually dropped from any dream team consideration. This observation is found to be true when -ne consults the records. Perhaps the greatest football player in the Palmetto state's gridiron history was. halfback Banks Mc Fadden of Clemson. McFadden played on Clemson's pow-. erful 1939 outfit, which won eight of its-nine games, and then went on to defeat Boston College in the Cotton Bowl. He was unanimously chosen All-Southern, and when time came for All-American selections to be made, McFadden was jawarded the coveted recognition of being placed on Grant land Rice's first string All-American team. McFadden ran wild in the Carolina-Clemson game of that year. He ran for one score, passed for another, and played brilliant defensive ball to help his teammates run up a 27-0 score over the Gamecocks. The 1941 classic, which saw a highly fav T team fall under the onslaught of a fiercely brilliant Carolina at tack, was a stepping stone to national honors for three ball players, Lou Sossaman of Carolina, and Charlie Timmons Jumpin' Joe Blalock, a student in the school of phar macy at Carolina, who made the Hearst All-American team in 1940 when he was at Clemson, picks the Tigers to'win Big Thursdays state classic, 26-13. Blalock stacked up football honors the three years he played end position for Clemson. In 1940, the year Clem son edged Carolina. out 21-13, he was the only Southerner chosen for the Hearst All-American team. He was the second man in the state to get this honor, his teammate in 1939, Borinie Banks McFadden, being the first se lected. Although playing end position, six-foot two-inch Jumpin' Joe ranked as a triple threater for his left-hand edl passing, his running and pass-receiving. In 1941 Blalock made the Associated Press second All American team. He made the Associate Press All-South ern and All-State teams in '39, '40, and '41. Football, however, is not the only sport at which Joe Blalock excels. During his college days at Clemson, he was an outstanding b)aseball player in the outfield and on the mound. He has played with Camden in the fast semi pro Palmetto League for the last two summers. This summer he made the Palmetto League first-string all star team as an outfielder. and Joe Blalock of Clemson. Sossaman was a Hercules in pads that hot Thursday afternoon. Time and time again he made vital tackles which kept the Tigers from coming from behind to defeat Carolina, in a game wvhich the Gamecocks finally won by a score of 18-14. Timmons, called the best line-buster the state of South Carolina ever produced, proved that he, too, was worthy of his All-Southern rating. Blalock, a left handed end whose bullet-like passes on end around plays were a continual thorn in the side of the Game cocks, showed the 30,000 cheering fans that he could stand the pressure of the Big Thursday affair, and why he was rated as third team All-American. The 1948 editions of the Gamecock and Tiger aggrega tions are both good. But before any plaudits are given out, they must pass the gruelling test which faces them today. When the, sun goes down tonight there will be one team whose hopes for acclaim by the experts will have been realized, and there will be another whose hopes have been rudely ground into the turf at Carolina Stadium. For Small Meetings and Parties up to Sixty "THE PLAZA'S ...THE PLACE * Delicious Sandwiches for * Soft Drinks e Ice C'old Beer So Remember: STAG or D)RAG "THE PLAZA'S THE PLACE" "GOT A 11IG DINNER DATE?" . TRY THEV ORIENTAL PLAZA Deticioun CHINESE and AMERICAN Diahen Stricklandn Headlines Two Of State's Finest For Conference, Natioi By LLOYD HI This afternoon when the Gai Tigers in the annual State FE of things to watck There w off from their duties for an af1 event that South Carolinit sees nitaries of the state taking strategy of the nation to wa tempt to outmaneuver the ot Bishop St scol Ailfeas thi*eeX uo .X. le .*. schools will feast their eyes upon classmates whom they have not seen during the intervening year. There will be fashions and fun, horseplay and catcalls, and a lot of good football players on each team. But the eyes of 25,000 spec tators will be centered most of the afternoon upon two players alone, Bouncin' Bishop Strickland and Rompin' Robert Gage. Upon the abilities of these two gentle men rests the hopes of their re spective teams and supporters. Strickland and Gage. have had similar careers. Strickland came out of the Navy to lead a fine Mullins high school team to a very successful season in 1946. Later that year he wvent to the Shrine Bowl game to team up with Lukie Brunson and bring victory to the South Carolina forces. Strickland came on to the univeisity the next year and became one of the: most talked about players at Caro lina since Al Grygo and Stan Sta sica wrote football history here some years before. Gage starredi at Andersoni dur ing his high school (days and also performed magnificently in the Shrine Bowl in 1944. In his fresh-1I man yeai at Clemson he was sec-i ond(-string tailback and the next year he made first string. Last year Gage reached the height of his college career, ranking third in the nation on total offense and being among the leaders in kick ing. Strickland burns up the turf with lightning speed and enough power to run over many would-be tacklers that he can't run around. Still fresh in the minds of most fans are the magnificent runs that he made in last years' games. In the State Pair game he broke out over tackle many times to eat up huge chunks of the Clemson sec ondary. Remembered also is the muddy afternoon in Charlotte when Bish, seemingly unaffected b)y the sloppy field, outran the whole Wake Forest team to lead his team to victory. And nearer at hand, Strickland, in the open ing game with Newberry, ran over everything except the sta (ium wall. He was less spectacu lar in the second game against Furman but many Carolina fans thopght that he was the only of fense that the Birds had all LOANS MADE of V Across from PALM LIBERTY LOAN I 1414 MAIN arse tamecock GageDuel State Fair Backs Will Vie ial Recognition JNTINGTON necocks take on the Clemson tir game there will be a lot ill be celebrities taking time ;ernoon at the greatest single all year. There will be dig time off from mapping the tch these football teams at her. Old alumni from both rickland night. And he did manage to get away for several long gains and to score the game's only touch down. Gage this year has taken up where he left off last season when he received honorable mention on several All-Americnn selections. He did go in briefly in the fourth quarter and immediately passed * OBBY GAGl the Tigers to a touchdown. In his second game he gathered in a North Carolina State punt and raced ninety yards for that game's only touchdown. Against Missis sipi State. Gage again led his un derdog team to victory as he passed for three touchdowns. And so this afternoon the bat tlo between these two players will he fought wvith the winner likely to be named the outstand ng player in the state. This per sonal battle between Strickland and Gage is symbolic of their team's chances and their future. ro the victor belongs the spoils -conference and perhaps national recognition. [)N ANYTHING dlue ETTlO THEATRE LUGGAGE Co. STREET BIG THURSDAY Color Features Clemson Game By JANE DOWE When the headline "Gamecocks Clash With Tigers Today" flashes before our eyes, the annual Caro lina-Clemson football game #gain brings "Big Thursday" to South Carolina. This year, in the forty sixth game between the rival teams, the Gamecocks are seeking their third consecutive victory, and the Tigers are trusting to a fate that has never let them go with out victory for mort than three successive year3. In 1896 the teams first el ished in a game that ended in a 12 to 6 victory for Carolina. Th.,i game was played in tO.e rain at a woodcn bowl inside the fair grounds. This Gamecock victory was followed by four Tiger successes. The burning of the Tiger in ef figy in 19(2 on the Carolina cam pus severed relations between the two schools until 1908. Then the game was 4-scablished as a classic, and the Thuisdi y of State Fair week has continucd to mean fooT hall and hol:day excitement to South Carolinian. Clemson h nv amassed 762 points to Carolina's 378 in 45 contests. Carolina has had 18 victories, Clemson 26, and there have been two ties. The longest winning streak that Carolina has experi enced was in 1931, 1932, and 1933. The greatest surprise and upset came in 1928 when the Gamecocks were rated as heavy favorites, hav ing defeated the University of Chi cago. The Tigers upset Carolina hopes by beating them 32 to 0. The traditional rivalry has brought disagreement and even violence in former years. In early days the custom of having fires at the gates of the Carolina cim pus began to prevent the Clemson men from entering the campus on a razing visit. Freshmen were as signed to watch the fires through out the night before the game. For protection the Carolina team had to be moved out of town on the night before the game. But when Clemson met victory, nothing could protect Carolina's buildings and monuments from splashes of red paint. In 1921 a fight occurred during the game when Clemson fans stole the Carolina rooster and hid it under a spectator's coat. Even as recently as 1946 the business section of Columbia suf fered when rash students cele brated. Last year brought the tra ditional shirttail parade, led by President Smith, and the burning of the stuffed Tiger, but there was a peaceful demonstration of school spirit. Fires still burn all night before the game, the chapel bell rings twenty-four hours before the event, and the campus is complete ly decorated by anti-Clemson scen ery that has been made by fra ternities and sororities. Every player who stars in this contest performs before such dig nitaries as the governor and the United States senators from South Carolina and before a crowd of 25,000 that might be tripled if the stadium were larger. HCA BA N155 for Your Next Smart D)ress or Coat LEARN THE WAY Men's Finest Clothing * Kuppenheimer * Kingsridge * Alco SUITS and TOPCOATS NEW FELT HATS * Stetson * Schoble CLASSY FURNISHINGS COPELAND CO. 1409 MAIN ST. Rex Enright As Coach Ar By MANNIN There are two Rex Enrightb First, there is Rex Enright, hat everyone connected with :hat all football fans have heai Enright, the coach, is quiet, iard-working. and likeable. Last rear, at the close of the season,l ilumnae presented him with a new ,adillac. lie i,; never too busy to listen .o anyone needing information or i helping hand. Everyone in the iepartment of athletics has a :eep-seated" admiration for him. rhey affectionately call him 'Boss." Enright learned football under Lhe great Knute Rockne at Notre Dame. He was Rock's first stringi fullback in 1925 and was the unanimous choice as All-Western fullback. Upon graduation from the No tre Dame law school, Enright coached at North Carolina and Georgia. In 1938 he came to Co lumbia as head coach of the Gamecocks. Since his arrival 'ere, his teams have won 28 out of 62 games played. Two were tied. Then there is Enright, the man! This is the Enright few have heard of. To get an idea what Enright is like at home, his daughter, Joyce, was asked to help out. She was very cooperative, but added that she might he prejudiced. "He's never cross with any of the family," Joyce says, "although it's evident at times that he is worried. Sometimes he fidgets picking up a letter or scrap of paper to scribble plays on. Al ways he says that the boys do their best. Sometimes he has nightmares or dreams. While in the navy he showed as much con cern for the team as he does now. and every time he got a chance he went to any game the "boys" were playing. "Whenever Mother has a church social or isn't feeling very well, Sigma Nu Rec Trophy At Fre ./ The overall sports trophy Council of the umiversity waN ternity at the halftime of th ball game last night. Johnny interfraternity athletic commi The trophy was given to the fraternity which accumulated the highest number of points in all the sports contests conducted dur ing the 1947-48 school year. First Place winner in each sport is given the most p)oints andl second and third places are given points ac cordingly. At the end of the year. the fraternity wvith the highest number of Points receives the trophy. Three individual sports trophies were also p)resented at this same~ time by the Interfraternity Coun eil. First place in track was won by Sigma Chi, the swimming tro phy went to Sigma Nu, and Lambda Chi Alpha was presented with the softball trophy. The Lambda Chi Alpha de hating team, composed of Bill Godshall and JTim Parr, won first p)lace in the Interfraternity Coun cil debating tournament. The de hating cup war given to Lambda Chi at the halftime of the foot ball game during the presenta tion ceremony. GRA Y .Your Heod BEAUTIFUL S CORDU RC Regulars < 34th iil Maroon, Green, G GRA Y Page Seven Is Popular Ld Father G HARRIS the coach. This is the one football knows and the one d about. Pop fixes dinner himself. Some times he even fixes breakfast. Af Ler dinner he reads the paper or scribbles plays. "Whenever my high school team loses. Pop says that I can bet my bottom dollar that the boys were giving everything they had, but the other team was just too much. If there is something that my sister or I don't under stand. he always explains to us. "My older sister is married and THE BOSS has a year and a half old son. liis name is Robbie. Since there are three girls in our family, Pop was very proud to have a grand .,He brought a football home the other night and Robbie got out of his high chair to play with it. This tickled Pop to death. "He never forgets mother's and his wedding anniversary or any of the family's birthdays. When ever my friends come over he talks to them as if he was one of them. "I wouldn't have any other Daddy in the world!" i4ves Sports ;hman Game given by the Interfraternity presented to Sigma Nu fra e Carolina-Clemson freshman James, past chairman of the ttee, made the presentation. LOWER MAIN BARBER SHOP THREE FIRST CLASS BARBERS 909 Main St. Opposite .loe Patrone's CENTRAL I jOPEN 24 HOURS 5197-PHONES-5198 '1204 MAIN STREET L0 SON'S ;uarters For PORTS WEAR Y COATS md Longs :>36 Red, Tan rey, Blue SON'S UlN ST.